Huawei has its U.S. base in Plano, while ZTE’s U.S. operations are headquartered in Richardson.

Following a yearlong investigation, the House Intelligence Committee made five recommendations:

* U.S. government systems and U.S. government contractors, “particularly those working on sensitive systems, should exclude any Huawei or ZTE equipment or component parts. Additionally, the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) must block acquisitions, takeovers, or mergers involving Huawei and ZTE given the threat to U.S. national security interests.”

* The panel “strongly encouraged” telecom carriers and similar businesses to seek other vendors.

* The intelligence committee said “unfair trade practices” of the Chinese telecom sector warranted investigation, especially “China’s continued financial support of key companies.”

* Chinese companies, particularly Huawei, need to become more open and transparent, the panel said.

* The committee also urged other relevant Congressional panels to consider legislation “to better address the risk posed by telecommunications companies with nation-state ties or otherwise not clearly trusted to build critical infrastructure.”

For its part, Huawei said U.S. companies can trust the Chinese electronics company based on its record.

Here’s a statement from a Huawei spokesman:

“Huawei is a globally trusted and respected company doing business in 150 markets with over 500 operator customers. Thequality and security of our product (is proven worldwide).

"This investigation and report are nothing more than a politics exercise that has ignored technical, commercial and cultural realities. It achieves nothing in terms of securing networks in a world in which every major vender develops, codes and builds globally, including in China.

"Huawei looks forward to leaving this political distraction behind us so that we can work with rational industry and government stakeholders to develop real solutions to what are real and industry-wide cyber challenges."